How come few in York know about S. Morgan Smith anymore?
This turbine, also known as a runner, was manufactured at Voith Siemens Hydro's West Manchester Township plant in 2006. (See related photos below.) Background posts: Glatfelter, Smith top industrial legacy list, Voith turbine runner legacy of former pastor/entrepreneur, York made big, heavy things - and was immensely proud of it.
A student in my OLLI class at Penn State York wondered why S. Morgan Smith, an industrial giant in the late 1800s, isn't better known today.
The short answer is that no company with Smith connections bears the name of the Moravian-minister turned entrepreneur today... .
In 2004, Exelon Corp. selected Voith to update four units at Conowingo Hydroelectric Station, pictured above. This Susquehanna River dam impounds the river about five miles south of the Pennsylvania line.
Smith primarily lost his name after Allis Chalmers purchased the company and changed its name to the Allis brand.
But those who work for Johnson Controls, Voith Hydro, American Hydro and Precision Components probably know that S. Morgan Smith, directly or indirectly, founded their companies.
Here are a few other questions or comments posed posed by students in my OLLI class:
Q. How did people get across the Susquehanna River before the bridges?
A. One method was the use of flat-bottomed ferries that could be poled across.
Q. Where was the York’s Cottage Hill Academy?
A. This finishing school for Southern girls was located on the north bank of the Codorus, across the creek from the Susquehanna Commerce Center. It was on what is now Cottage Hill Road.
Q. The Susquehanna River provided a buffer against possible British attack during the Continental Congress’ stay in York in 1777-78. What role did the Codorus Creekplay?
A. No role, but it did have something to do with York’s location. York’s founders settled the town in 1741 where the Monocacy Road crossed the Codorus.
The truck transporting the runner out of York, Pa., from the Voith Siemans plant in 2006, has 78 wheels and requires two drivers, one in front and one in back. S. Morgan Smith was a predecessor of Voith, now in West Manchester Township.
Arthur J Pancheri · June 14, 2008 2:30 PM
I am a docent at the Folsom Powerhouse here in California. We are in the process of completing our new visitors center. 4 s.Morgan Smith turbines were used to drive 4 GE AC generators which on July 13, 1895, sent power 22 miles to Sacramento. this was sthe first such transmission in the world and was the proto-type for our present electrical network here in the U.S. I am also writing a condensed book on the power plant and am finding difficulty in locating data on these turbines. Do you have any history or historical items I could refer to? Thank You.
James Fahringer · July 23, 2008 5:06 PM
If you tour the Hydro Electric turbines inside the Hydro Electric plants on the Susquehanna River you will notice very huge turbines. Some of these turbines are still the original turbines from the early 1900’s and are still in use. They carry brass plates identifying them with the name "S. Morgan Smith". Most of these dams are open to the public for tours. I have seen the "S. Morgan Smith" turbines in the Safe Harbor hydro electric plant but I believe they can be found in the other hydro plants as well, including Holtwood, York Haven, and Conowingo dams. Talk about clean energy sources, hydro electric plants are the cleanest way I know to produce electricity. Why don't we try to build more hydro plants??
I attended the First Moravian Church on 39 North Duke Street in the city of York for a number of years. Almost everyone in that church knows about S. Morgan Smith because it was the church where he was the preacher back in the late 1860’s and early 1870’s While serving as the pastor of the First Moravian Church, he developed a throat problem that impeded his speech to the point he couldn't preach anymore. He left the ministry and started a washing machine company which later developed into the manufacture of hydro electric turbines. I believe he left the ministry in 1871.
As a member of the First Moravian Church one cannot help but realize the contribution of S. Morgan Smith and his family. There are several beautiful stain glass windows in his honor and his family's honor gracing the sanctuary. One such window is the beautiful stain glass window in the front of the sanctuary entitled, "Christ On the Road to Emmaus". Experts believe this to be one of the finest examples of stained glass in the United States.
You can visit the S. Morgan Smith and family grave site in Prospect Hill Cemetery. It is actually a circle located near the mausoleum. Some of S. Morgan Smith's grandchildren were instrumental in the development of Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA.